Nuts get a lot of credit for healthy aging, and a small new Dutch trial adds a twist: it looked at what a daily serving of peanuts did to how the brain responds to insulin.
What the Researchers Did
Researchers at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands ran a randomized crossover trial with 31 healthy adults aged 60 to 75. Each person spent 16 weeks eating 60 grams (about two servings) of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts a day, and 16 weeks avoiding peanuts, in a randomized order. Because everyone did both phases, each person served as their own comparison.
The team used intranasal insulin and brain scans to measure how responsive brain regions were to insulin. During the peanut phase, insulin responsiveness improved in right-hemisphere areas linked to memory, including the hippocampus. The report was published in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal in 2026.
The Catch
This is a small study at a single site, and the summary doesn’t report a direct memory test result for this trial. The researchers’ earlier crossover study, by the same group, reported modest gains in blood flow to the brain and verbal memory, but that is separate research. The work was funded by The Peanut Institute Foundation. The researchers say the funder had no role in the design, analysis or writing, but a small study with an industry sponsor deserves caution.
What It Means for Your Plate
One trial can’t show that peanuts protect memory. It fits a broader picture in which plain nuts are a reasonable snack. Unsalted, with the skin on, is how they were eaten here, and two servings is a fair amount of calories. If you have a peanut allergy, this isn’t for you. Bigger, longer trials would need to show whether any brain effect lasts or changes how people age.
This article is for general information, not medical advice.
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